LSU’s star tailback Leonard Fournette has missed several games this season due to injuries but appears to be healthy enough to take the field this week as the Tigers’ SEC West schedule heats up.
“We’re thinking he can, but I thought he could play two, three weeks ago. I’m not a doctor, that’s for sure, but I think he’s going to play,” head coach Ed Orgeron said after LSU’s 45-10 win over Southern Miss on Saturday night. "(We’ll) see if he can practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m not going to push him. If he’s not ready, he’s not ready. But the feeling is that he’s going to be ready, but we’re not for sure yet.”
The one-time Heisman Trophy favorite has had a lingering ankle injury dating back to fall camp that caused him to miss the second game of the season back in Week 2. Fournette returned to play in a loss to Auburn in late September but reaggravated the injury again to cause him to miss games against Missouri and Southern Miss.
While Fournette is undoubtedly one of the best players in college football when healthy, the team hasn’t lost much in the run game thanks to backup Derrius Guice. The sophomore rushed for 163 yards against Missouri after starting and added 162 more over the weekend.
You have to figure the plan all along was to get Fournette fully healthy instead of trotting him out against two very winnable teams the past few weeks. Orgeron is fighting hard to keep the head coaching position in Baton Rouge and will need all the firepower he can get offensively as the Tigers face a brutal stretch of five straight ranked teams in six weeks.